If you’re preparing to give a 3-minute speech, we’ve put together a list of examples to help you organize and deliver your talk in a way that will really help you improve your delivery. Use these examples to help you deliver a successful 3-minute speech!
3-minute speech by a civic organization seminar instructor
Good morning, everyone.
Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedules to join us.
How did you get here today?
Did you drive your own car? Or did you opt for public transportation, and are any of you biking or walking?
I took the subway to get here today, a choice I made because I wanted to make a small dent in the carbon dioxide emissions from driving my car.
According to a report published in 2012 by the Climate Change Action Institute, the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre and the Netherlands Environmental Impact Assessment Agency, Korea’s carbon dioxide emissions in 2011 were the seventh highest in the world, at 610 million tons.
For reference, we were ranked the same in 2010, and in 2011, we emitted 12.6 tons of carbon dioxide per capita, which is higher than Europe, China, Germany, and Japan.
To avert the climate crisis, scientists agree that we need to limit the global average temperature increase to no more than 2°C above pre-industrial levels. To do this, cumulative carbon dioxide emissions from 2000 to 2050 should be no more than 1.5 tons of carbon dioxide, but if current emissions trends continue, we are likely to exceed this limit before 2030.
In fact, reducing carbon dioxide emissions is simpler than you might think.
It doesn’t take a lot of effort or special skills – just start with the little things you already know but don’t do.
For example, raising your air conditioning temperature by just 1°C can save three young pine trees.
Or, if you spend one hour less time on your computer and one hour less time watching TV, you can save twelve young pine trees.
The more trees we save, the less carbon dioxide there is on the planet, and the better our environment will be.
There are countless other ways to reduce your carbon footprint, such as using public transportation, conserving water, and avoiding single-use products.
Compared to 1990, Korea’s carbon dioxide emissions increased by 144% in 2011, the third highest rate of increase in the world after China and India.
To stop this rapid growth, we all need to get involved and take action.
Small efforts can make a difference.
Simply taking the stairs instead of the elevator and unplugging unused electricity can help protect the environment.
If it’s worth the effort and inconvenience to save the planet, isn’t it worth it?
Your small actions will go a long way toward protecting our environment.
So let’s make a difference together.
Thank you for listening.
3-minute civic organization seminar speaker
We often think that poverty breeds crime.
That’s because crimes like shoplifting, robbery, and theft are often closely associated with poverty.
The reason why people were generous to the protagonist of ‘ Long Hair’ was because he was poor.
Knowing the nature of poverty, we were able to sympathize with him.
However, most of these crimes are exposed to the world, the people involved are prosecuted, and they end up in jail.
On the other hand, the crimes of the powerful and elite, as well as corporate and state crimes, are rarely even publicized.
And when they do come to light, they’re often left untouched at the root of the problem.
The crime of stealing a loaf of bread only affects a few people.
But elite crimes contaminate entire societies, causing devastating harm to nations and societies.
Take the recent case of the Busan Savings Bank.
It is no exaggeration to say that elite crime in our society has reached an almost critical level.
A landowner cannot profit from land without a peasant, but a peasant can cultivate land without a landowner.
Yet today we are surrounded by an elite of unrepentant criminals and those who make money defending their crimes.
Shouldn’t educated people make better moral judgments?
But what’s the reality?
The reality is that the more you learn, the more you commit crimes, and that’s where we are today.
People are especially tolerant of white-collar crime.
We tend to turn a blind eye to crimes committed by socially recognized people or those in high positions.
Why is this so?
Perhaps because our society is overly tolerant of the learned and intelligent.
No matter how objectively we try to evaluate them, the respect and recognition we have for them in our subconscious and memory clouds our assessment.
But let’s not forget, the ripple effect of white-collar crime starts at the bottom of society.
These crimes are not simply individual aberrations, but a reflection of the structural limitations of society.
Ultimately, white-collar crime is a challenge that must be addressed in order to make social justice right.
We must target it, challenge it, and continue to improve it.
Thank you for listening.
3-minute speech by a civic organization seminar instructor
Let’s say a young man gets a job as an intern at an enviable company right out of college.
Everyone around him wonders.
“What kind of specs does he have that would get him a job as an intern right after graduation?”
The buzz would be all over the place trying to figure out what his specs were.
In today’s society, we talk about specs a lot.
Once you get into college, that spec becomes a reality.
From then on, students are bombarded with things to do.
They need to improve their TOEIC scores, get a good GPA, and get involved in extracurricular activities and internships.
Not only that, but they also need to find time to earn money to pay for their education.
The four years of your youth are a whirlwind.
Have you ever heard of depreciation?
It’s when a business sets aside a portion of the revenue it earns from its operations as an expense to recover the value of its assets.
In any business, it makes sense to think about the bottom line first.
Profit is a secondary concern.
But what about young people?
We can all agree that it costs a lot of money to get the skills that society demands.
If you were to compound the amount of time and money a young person puts into acquiring the fixed asset that is their specs, it would be unimaginable.
Even if that young man is lucky enough to land a job, it’s time to start depreciating to recoup the investment.
The problem is the timeframe.
In the past, working generations were able to recoup their investment in a relatively short period of time.
But today’s youth are different.
They’ve invested a lot of money, and if their jobs don’t pay enough or their employment is unstable, the situation is even worse.
Young adults living under these pressures are likely to spend the rest of their lives in a state of anxiety and worry, never finishing their depreciation.
There are student loans to pay off, living expenses to cover, and the reality of the world is getting heavier and heavier.
Could it be that mental health issues like depression in this day and age stem from this situation?
If young people can no longer see a future in their lives, there is no future for their society.
It’s time for everyone in society to discuss the problems of the youth and work together to solve them.
They are too young and too vulnerable to leave all the burdens on their shoulders.
Thank you for listening.
Civil Society Seminar Talk (3-minute speech)
Good afternoon, everyone.
I’ve been thinking about whether the internet is something that we have to do for the rest of our lives.
If not, how should we look at this issue?
Some people say that the internet has already become a necessity, not a choice.
Like cars, trains, TV, and radio, it’s become a part of our lives, even if we try to avoid it.
But when I grow old, say 40, 50, or more years from now,
will I be the same person with the decency, character, and intelligence to match?
And if so, will the internet be able to age and mature as well?
Will it be as finger-wagging and vitriolic then as it is now?
Will we spend hours surfing the web and searching for information?
Will we continue to be militant and throw down the gauntlet in cyberspace?
And what will we gain by doing so?
Will a culture of graceful internet use take hold as we age?
And can internet culture mature over time?
We’re living in an era with the internet,
will be different from the generation of adults who grew up without the internet and then suddenly found themselves faced with it.
Of course, our generation will also be very different from the early to mid-teens today, and the generations to come.
For them, the internet will be a way of life, not just a tool.
Think back to when VTRs were popular,
usage spread over decades through the efforts of sellers and word-of-mouth.
But the adult generation was never taught how to use a VTR in a formal curriculum.
The internet, on the other hand, has gone beyond these courses and is now part of the regular curriculum.
If the curriculum for learning about the Internet is gradually expanded in this way,
we may see stronger and more realistic moral codes in the future.
So do you think we’ll be more civilized in our use of the internet as we get older?
I think you’re welcome.
We need to think about it.
How do we become a decent ‘old netizen’?
I wish I could vote today that it’s difficult, and tomorrow that it’s possible.
This is a challenge that I and you all share.
The generation just below us, the generation that is just starting to learn to type in Korean,
and the generations that will come after them.
Thank you for listening.
3-minute speech manuscript, civic organization lecturer
Hello, everyone.
I wish you a bountiful fall season and peace and well-being in your homes.
Autumn is a season with a different charm than spring.
The fields turn golden with the fruits of the past year’s labor, and the trees along the streets change into colorful garments, brightening up our surroundings.
But fall can also bring a sense of loneliness as the year winds down.
There are some neighbors who may feel especially lonely this fall.
They are immigrants who have left their homeland and settled in Korea.
With the recent surge in the number of immigrants coming to Korea, there have been many calls for more attention and support to address immigrant issues.
Although various organizations are developing various programs to support immigrant women and multicultural families, they are still in their infancy.
The most pressing issue is the lack of specialized personnel to systematically address this issue.
Korea is a society with a strong mono-ethnic identity and has a very short history of foreign immigration.
As a result, the issue of immigration has become increasingly important, but there hasn’t been enough time to develop specialized personnel to study and address it.
The lack of specialized personnel is ultimately leading to disorganized and ineffective policies.
The next challenge to overcome is the closed-mindedness of our people.
Immigrants are often marginalized and ostracized in our society, and as a result, they have few opportunities to participate in community activities.
Moreover, they often do not have sufficient education in the Korean language, making it even more difficult for them to adapt and integrate into our society.
Our society is already becoming increasingly multicultural.
It is not uncommon to encounter people of different races on the street.
In the face of this irresistible trend, we need to be more proactive in helping immigrants who want to settle in our society.
We must develop systematic training programs for them and support them in finding stable employment.
The Mid-Autumn Festival, the biggest national holiday, is coming soon.
We are preparing to share the joy and excitement with our loved ones.
But let’s not just focus on the small world of us and our families, but also pay attention to our neighbors who may be spending this holiday alone.
Remember, they’re our neighbors, riding the same subways, walking the same streets, and living among us.
With that, I’d like to conclude by wishing you a happy and fulfilling holiday season with your loved ones.
Thank you for listening.
3-minute civic organization seminar speaker
“What a beautiful man who lived his life to the end.”
“A righteous man for our time that we should all emulate.”
These are the tributes that people posted on the internet after the story of Kim ○○○ (53), a driver who died after saving students by blocking a skidding school bus with his body, broke on the 18th.
Mr. Kim was crushed to death by the wheels as he tried to stop a bus carrying eight students from sliding down the road in front of a school in Jinwol-dong, Nam-gu, Gwangju.
In a world where people don’t look out for their neighbors, Mr. Kim saved precious lives by putting his own life on the line.
It’s a heartbreaking and sad story.
Gwangju Nam-gu is considering applying for Mr. Kim to become a doctor.
Our society is indebted to him, and it would be fitting to honor him as a doctor.
Last year, we also had another representative of the spirit of self-sacrifice. It was the late Commander Han Joo Ho.
A member of the Navy’s Special Warfare Brigade, his martyrdom during the Cheonan rescue operation touched the hearts of the entire nation.
His noble life was even featured as a case study in a 6th grade moral textbook.
In honor of his sacrifice, the Han Joo Ho Award was established, which is given to a special warfare operative on March 30, the first anniversary of his martyrdom.
As you can see, Brigadier Han’s story has touched and inspired many people.
In 2010, he was one of seven “Social Righteous” selected by the Life Insurance Social Contribution Foundation, including Mr. Lee Joon, 33, a Korean international student who saved a citizen who fell on the tracks at Nezu Subway Station in Tokyo, Japan.
Lee is known as the “second Lee Soo-hyun” in Japan.
You may remember Mr. Lee as the Korean international student who died in 2001 while trying to save a Japanese drunk who fell onto the tracks at Shin-Okubo Station in Tokyo.
The 26-year-old’s righteous death touched the hearts of both Koreans and Japanese, changing Japanese perceptions of Korea and helping to improve bilateral relations.
The Lee Soo-hyun Scholarship, named after him, was established in 2002, and various events have been held in his honor.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of his supreme sacrifice.
The 10th anniversary memorial ceremony was held at the Seoul Press Center on the 25th, hosted by the ‘Lee Soo-hyun Righteousness Cultural Foundation Establishment Committee’ and attended by people from all walks of life, and on the 26th, memorial events will be held in Busan and Tokyo, where Lee’s alma mater is located.
Those who practiced the saintly life are an example for our society.
Their message is invaluable.
In this age of rampant selfishness, we see hope in their sacrifice.
Therefore, their noble deaths should be honored, remembered, and recorded.
So that their noble spirit of sacrifice can live on for generations to come.
We must never forget.
Those who gave their lives for society and others.
They were part of our society, and they had families and lives they loved and cherished.
We should all strive to be like them, and study to become greater people.
Thank you, everyone, for listening.
3-minute speech by a civic organization seminar instructor
Drunk driving, a major cause of driving accidents
Did you know that a large percentage of driving accidents are caused by drunk drivers?
There are still many drivers who take drunk driving lightly.
Why do they get behind the wheel, even when they’ve had a few drinks?
“I’ve only had a few drinks,” ‘It’s a short distance, so I’ll be fine,’ or ”If I don’t get caught, that’s it.”
But drunk driving is becoming an increasingly serious social problem.
The number of drunk driving accidents is increasing every year.
In 2008, there were 26,873 incidents, 28,207 in 2009, and 28,641 in 2010.
This is a shameful reality for us all.
Drunk driving accidents are particularly prevalent during the holiday season.
That’s because the fresh air and relaxation of a vacation can make it easy to drink too much, but it also makes it easy to let your guard down.
When you’re drunk, your ability to look ahead is significantly less than normal,
Your ability to react to situations is also reduced, making it harder to react appropriately when you see an obstacle.
This can lead to errors in judgment and small mistakes that can turn into deadly hit-and-run accidents.
Statistics show that office workers who have been drinking at the dinner table are more likely to crash and get away with it.
In particular, hit-and-run accidents that occur between 8pm and midnight on weeknights account for 24.5% of all victims.
This means that while they may have been bold when they got behind the wheel while intoxicated, they often flee after an accident because they fear punishment.
Other countries have strong regulations against drunk driving.
Japan imposes up to 15 years in prison for drunk drivers who cause hit-and-run accidents, and even punishes the person who served the alcohol.
European countries like Norway, Finland, and the Netherlands suspend driver’s licenses for up to 10 years for drunk driving.
There’s only one reason for these harsh penalties.
It’s because driving under the influence of alcohol is one of the most dangerous things you can do to take your life and the lives of others.
With the holiday season just around the corner, it is our fervent hope that these accidents will be reduced.
It’s important to remember that when you drink and get behind the wheel, it’s self-inflicted harm to yourself and murder to others.
It’s time to reform our own consciousness, not because we fear stiff penalties.
Let’s make a drunk driving-free society with our own efforts.
3-minute speech by a lecturer at a civic organization seminar
There is a saying that ‘cheap is bizarre’.
It means that cheap is also bad quality.
Biji tteok is made by adding rice flour or wheat flour to the bean curd left over from making tofu, kneading it, and then frying it like bedbug rice cake.
In the days when food was scarce, bijitteok was a reflection of poverty, and the phrase “cheap is bijitteok” reflects the lamentation of those who had to choose between cheap flavors.
In those days, both sellers and buyers were well aware of the fact that it was made with cheap ingredients, so it was cheap and tasted bad.
They sold it because it was called biji tteok, and they bought it because they thought it was biji tteok.
Commerce back then was rather honest.
Nowadays, the phrase “cheap is cheating” has a slightly different meaning.
There’s a strong nuance of feeling cheated.
It’s not uncommon to see similar products on the shelves at different prices.
Consumers are increasingly confused.
It’s a world of different price tags with no one saying “bizarre”.
This is the aftermath of globalization.
Capital flows freely across borders, but labor is still trapped within them.
A dollar has the same value everywhere, but labor is valued differently in different countries.
The same piece of clothing costs different amounts depending on which country’s laborers made it.
This has led to a situation where country of origin labeling seems to be the only documentation of price.
Workers in low-wage countries are treated like the “biji” in a biji rice cake, not because they’re less skilled, but because they’re not.
“Nothing is cheap and nothing is good.”
The plight of low-wage workers in Bangladesh’s garment factories seems to scream this to citizens of so-called well-off countries.
Can’t you understand the anger of Bangladeshi workers, about 40 percent of the population earning less than $1 a day, and only $40 a month in salary?
The cheap clothes on the shelves of discount stores in the developed world are infused with the tears of low-wage workers in underdeveloped countries.
The act of looking for something cheap and good sounds like an accusation of hypocrisy.
Apparel companies and retailers cover it up, consumers turn a blind eye, and the reality is that someone’s labor is being paid for with a broken heart.
The Bangladeshi worker crisis is a wake-up call to the global citizenry.
It’s a time of dishonesty, just as much as it was in the days of cheap beiji rice cakes.
We’re all hiding from each other and turning a blind eye.
There is no such thing as cheap and good.
As a consumer, it may seem natural to look for a bargain.
But behind that choice is someone’s sacrifice.
Someone has to suffer.
My advice is to treat spending like voting.
Not as a consumer, but as a citizen.
What could be smarter than that?
Thank you for listening.
3-minute speech at a civic organization seminar
There is a place full of youthful enthusiasm.
It’s in the Gangnam, Daehakro, and Hongdae neighborhoods.
Even after dark, neon signs light up the night, making it hard to tell what time it is.
Young people, invisible during the day, gather from all directions as the night draws in.
They’re laughing, talking, and having a good time with their friends and lovers.
But at the same time, there are other young people.
Wearing aprons, carrying trays in each hand, and moving nonstop.
These are the young people who work while entertaining the young people who come to play.
It might seem like a sad sight.
But they aren’t.
They are us, too. We are all the same youth, learning, experiencing, and growing in this society.
Today, many young people work part-time and dream of independence.
They are trying to get out of their parents’ arms and prove themselves as a member of society.
Along the way, they are increasingly subjected to wage exploitation, human rights abuses, and dehumanizing treatment by employers.
In many cases, when things are stolen or lost, the employer is held responsible and the cost is deducted from the workers’ wages.
For 5,000 won an hour, these young people are trapped in repetitive labor at the Hope House, with no chance to make their voices heard.
The reality that there is always someone to replace them holds them back.
So, what should adults do in this situation?
We would be remiss to turn a blind eye to the frustrations young people face as they take their first steps into the workforce.
Human rights abuses such as labor exploitation, verbal abuse, and sexual harassment must be eliminated from the workplace.
What do we need to show them so that they can nurture their dreams and remain excited about society?
It’s time for all of us to speak up so that young people can be hopeful, not disillusioned.
Civil Society Seminar Instructor 3-minute speech
Good afternoon, and thank you for inviting me to speak here today.
Recently, the internet was ablaze when a female college student said that “short guys are losers” and that “you have to be at least 5’10”. But while we’ve been obsessing over this incident, another horrific incident has been quickly forgotten.
A 17-year-old teenager tried to kill his parents and older sister by burning them to death with a 15-year-old neighbor. The father barely survived, but the mother and sister lost their lives. According to police, his motive was “to get the insurance money and live in Gangnam.” Despite this shocking incident, our society didn’t even show any signs of surprise.
The educational, religious, and media communities have been silent in the face of this horrific social pathology. There has been no discussion, no action, and no response. Isn’t our society’s inability to be surprised by outrageous events a reflection of an even more outrageous reality?
Why is it that we are sensitive to the phrase “anyone under 180cm is a loser” but indifferent to the horrific crimes committed by teenagers? Perhaps it’s because we believe it has nothing to do with us. However, it is an undeniable truth of today’s world that the desire to live in Gangnam makes you a ‘loser’ and that ‘good looks’ and ‘good specs’ are seen as a means to make money.
Teaching today’s youth to be masters of money is becoming a hollow cry. The pressure to get into top universities and build up their resume is robbing them of today. Then, in the absence of a social safety net, they are forced to sacrifice today again for an uncertain future. Before blaming the youth for their impulsive behavior, shouldn’t the older generation take a look at how they’re losing sight of today in the pursuit of material success?
A society that can’t face today’s predicament breeds bigger problems, which is one of the reasons why many mall tenants don’t see the Yongsan tragedy as their own: they imagine themselves as successful businessmen in the future rather than their current struggles, and turn a blind eye to today’s reality. Just as people who buy lotto tickets picture themselves as winners and forget about their current hardships.
But we’ve gotten used to this “today is the most important day” disconnect. If I’m not being true to who I am today, if I’m not being true to the relationships I have, then isn’t that what it means to be a loser? The actions of the teenager who harmed his parents and sister in order to live in Gangnam cannot be dismissed as an individual aberration; it is a dark reflection of our society, where existence has already been compromised and relationships destroyed.
Are we losing the authentic encounters and relationships that make us human? Being present today and being authentic in our relationships is the first step we need to take to recover.
Thank you for listening.
3-minute speech, civic organization seminar instructor
It’s getting harder and harder to keep up with the world.
I just got a new cell phone, and I’m wondering if I should change it again.
Even if I do, I’m worried.
Because thoughts of “there will be a better phone soon…” run through your head.
If I try to keep up with the pace of change in the world, I worry that I’ll lose my money quickly.
When the words “informationization” and “digitalization” first appeared, they were new concepts,
now they seem to be used almost interchangeably.
During the digital camera craze, it seemed like it was the information technology frontier.
They came in all sorts of bells and whistles and colors, and as performance improved dramatically, digital cameras became the kind of electronics you throw away after a few years.
Still, their convenience ushered in an era of photography for an estimated 50 million people.
Then, as cell phone cameras became as capable as commercial cameras, digital cameras seemed to fade into obscurity.
Asking if someone has a camera became an empty question.
The proliferation of cameras has also changed the realm of the expert.
With everyone snapping away with a DSLR, photography professionals were left to panic.
They were forced to further segment and specialize in order to make their work more accessible to amateurs.
This evolution of digital cameras is forcing us to change as well.
Our society is still like a fast-moving stream.
When everyone else is moving fast and you’re standing still, you naturally feel anxious.
It feels like the price we have to pay for living in our society.
There’s no silver bullet to completely eliminate the stress that comes with winning civilization.
In the end, perhaps the only realistic way to deal with it is to become a little more desensitized to change.
As much as I applaud our country’s progress, I fear that too much progress can be a poison.
Our “go-go-go” culture has brought us to where we are today,
but we also know that it hasn’t come without its side effects.
3-minute civic organization seminar speaker
What’s your most bitter experience? For me, the first thing that comes to mind is being betrayed by a person. Is there any other experience as bitter as having your heart broken by a human being, and if so, what does a well-functioning society look like? I believe that first and foremost, it should be a society where the relationships between people are right.
A society where people are respected for who they are, even if they are poor, and a society where I can live with dignity even if I am poor. If respect for human beings is the foundation of society, people will never be measured by material things. But if money is the trigger for deceiving people, for breaking trust between people, and if material things are the trigger for people to turn violent, then there is nothing sadder than that.
The OECD summarizes “community” as “the quality of help from the outside,” but if we become a society that doesn’t trust each other, that doesn’t give and receive help, then isn’t the center of that society material, not human? In such a society, those who don’t have are looked down upon, and people chase after material things, ignoring human relationships in order to survive.
Even meeting people and having relationships is inseparable from material things. Eating, drinking tea, and enjoying leisure together all require money. But think of someone who pretends to be a person and lives in infantile solitude. Could it be that it’s not people who have that attitude? If you’re afraid of being ignored because you’re poor, so you chase material things first and only get close to people after you’ve accumulated them, that’s not a healthy attitude to have.
The cultural perception of an entire nation needs to change so that people can live without and not be ignored. If it is a society where risk-takers approach people with hidden malice, no matter how high the national income is, its members will never be able to live truly well. I think we need a society where it is okay to be poor, and only in such a society will the life cycle of childbirth, childrearing, education, marriage, employment, and old age be able to continue smoothly.
Thank you.
3-minute speech at a civic organization seminar
Fur symbolizes splendor and luxury. When I wear it, I often fall into the illusion that I too can have that image. Perhaps because of this appeal, I still have many friends who love fur. Some say they wear it simply because it keeps them warm, while others say they buy it out of a competitive spirit of “if you can wear it, why can’t I?” It is now considered a must-have item, like a Louis Vuitton bag.
In Korea, this perception is leading to an increase in demand for fur. In other developed countries, fur consumption is said to be on the decline, but in Korea, demand has been steadily increasing for several years. In particular, the misguided custom of giving and receiving fur as a wedding wake is also contributing to the increase in demand. Some of my friends say, “I gave my son away in marriage, so I should get some fur.” I also see fur clothes as a symbol of splendor. I have to admit that when I see a fur garment, I’m drawn to the glamor and want to try it on.
Not long ago, there was a fur fashion show and a protest against it. I used to think of fur simply as something expensive, or something warm, or something I could imagine myself wearing, but now I think differently. That’s because I learned that 6080 mink and 1520 foxes are sacrificed to make a single fur coat, and these numbers really shocked me.
Wearing a fur coat is like carrying the carcasses of 70 minks and 20 foxes on your body. I’ve never been a huge animal lover, but when these numbers became real to me, my heart felt heavy, and I even had this weird fear that they were coming at me in my dreams.
Since then, the idea of wearing fur has completely disappeared from my mind. I nodded in agreement with animal rights organizations that “life should not be sacrificed for taste or fashion, not survival.” What is it about fashion that gives us the right to jeopardize an animal’s survival? If we take away an animal’s right to survive simply because we’re higher than them, aren’t we just cruel higher animals? When I consider that animals are also God’s creations, I see fur as another form of animal cruelty that goes beyond mere fashion.
I’m not an animal lover to the point of adopting a stray dog, but I try to show at least some respect and love for animals by not wearing fur. I think the “I’ll take one for the team” mentality will only increase the demand for fur, which will inevitably lead to more minks and foxes being sacrificed.
3-minute speech for a civic organization seminar
Claims of developing your city as a luxury city are everywhere these days.
The concept of a “luxury city” emerged about five to six years ago.
Nowadays, most cities, both large and small, are claiming to be a luxury city.
Regardless of the actual level of the city, it has become an era where the whole country is aiming to be a luxury city.
The word “luxury” as we are familiar with it is originally used for items such as clothes, bags, and shoes.
Luxury goods are products that are of the highest quality, combining the two aspects of function and beauty in harmony.
Another symbolic meaning of luxury is craftsmanship.
A mass-produced, factory-made product, no matter how good it is, is not considered a luxury because it lacks the sweat and passion of an artisan.
Perhaps that’s why Italy has such a long tradition of family craftsmanship, and why it has more luxury goods than any other country.
When you look at the slogans that are thrown around about luxury cities, they often emphasize the excellence of a particular element, such as “the city with the best museums”, “the city with the best shopping streets”, “the city with the best apartment complexes”, or “the city with the best bike lanes”.
Of course, it’s necessary to improve certain aspects of a city and have good infrastructure. But that alone doesn’t make a city a luxury city.
We should also be wary of overemphasizing design in particular.
In fact, the phrase “luxury city” is hard to find, even globally.
In the broadest sense, it means a city of high quality.
However, when benchmarked against major cities in the developed world, the approach some cities take is a little disappointing.
The attitude of creating a luxury city by importing a few flashy designs is not unlike the illusion that wearing luxury clothes and jewelry makes you a luxury person.
Take Florence, Italy, a city from one of the most colorful periods in European history.
The city is known for its many architectural gems.
However, its true value lies in the fact that it was built on the humanistic ideas of the Renaissance and aimed to create an ideal city.
What makes Florence so special is that it didn’t use design as an end in itself, but as a tool to realize higher social values.
Camillo Sitte, one of the pioneers of modern urban planning, emphasized that urban planning is an art of the highest order.
As his ideas suggest, design is a means to an end, not an end in itself.
The fragmented logic of “luxury city” doesn’t allow for true progress.
This is because it is unlikely that cities can be transformed into luxury goods in an easy way.
For a city to truly become a luxury city, it needs to go beyond the outward appearance and strive to realize a higher level of social values and philosophy.
3-minute speech by a lecturer at a civic organization seminar
I asked foreign athletes who are active in Korea this year what they think of Korea, and surprisingly, many of them said that they knew very little about Korea before coming here. They said they were surprised by the advanced standard of living and high cultural level.
This is a bit puzzling, isn’t it? Korea is a country that has successfully hosted the Olympics and World Cup. In soccer, the country made the quarterfinals in 2002, and Park Ji-sung raised the profile of Korean soccer by playing alongside the best in the world. In baseball, South Korea won gold at the Beijing Olympics and finished runner-up at the WBC, yet foreign players say they don’t know much about the country.
We often read about how Chan Ho Park has raised Korea’s profile in the U.S. and how Kim Yeon-ah has moved the world, but how much of an impact has that had? Sure, some American baseball fans may remember Chan Ho Park, and young European figure aspirants may look up to Kim Yeon-ah, but how many of us know exactly where they are from? It’s like not knowing where Schubert, Romain Garrigue, or Van Gogh came from.
Baseball fans are familiar with a player named Garcia, who played for the Lotte Giants for three years, averaging 28 home runs and over 100 RBIs a season. He was as popular because his personality matched ours as his skills. But do you know where Garcia’s nationality is? Baseball fans might know, but the average person probably doesn’t even know Garcia’s name, much less his nationality. For reference, he’s from Mexico.
Similarly, the fact that Park Ji-sung, Kim Yeon-ah, Park Chan-ho, and Park Tae-hwan are Korean may only be familiar to sports fans, but it’s still significant that they’ve represented Korea on the world stage. But it shouldn’t stop there. It’s time to think about how to make Korea known beyond sports fans to the general public.
While Korea has risen to prominence in Asia, its achievements are often still limited to the Asian context. It’s time to think about Korea’s place on the global stage, such as Europe.
Thank you for listening.
3-minute speech at a civic organization seminar
There is an old saying, Sajeokgijeong (事必歸正).
It means that no matter what, things will eventually come back to what is right.
Recently, a video of an elderly man being assaulted on the subway went viral.
A young man in his early 20s cursing and kicking an adult with a significant age gap was enough to make anyone angry.
After watching the video, the phrase “deadly serious” came to mind.
As the old saying goes, if they were to grow old and be assaulted or manhandled by younger people, I wondered how they would look back on their youthful behavior.
Especially since the young people who caused the offense probably had parents or grandparents.
I imagine walking back to the home of the elderly person who was insulted on the subway that day.
What was he thinking as he trudged along?
You probably thought about your youth, you probably realized how much the world has changed, and you probably felt a pang of sadness as you remembered the humiliation you’d suffered today.
You might have sighed, “I didn’t sign up to go out and suffer this humiliation.”
You might have been saddened by the realization that you were a helpless, sickly old man, and you might have shed a tear for the woes of old age.
Today’s seniors have lived through turbulent times, including wars and the Boer War.
The strength that got them through the hard times was probably family.
And the economic growth that we have today is only possible because of the hardships they endured.
We learn about the Korean War, the Gwangju uprising, and the December 12th uprising in textbooks, but it’s often just a matter of memorizing by heart and head.
Even though the people who experienced those turbulent years are still alive and well, we often forget or are indifferent to their life stories.
Korea has one of the fastest aging populations in the world.
By 2026, we will be an ultra-elderly society, with 23.1% of the population aged 65 and over.
It is time for the government, civic organizations, and our society to once again make efforts to honor the elderly and spread a culture of filial piety.
To move toward a truly advanced welfare state, we must not simply dismiss the existence of the elderly as a generation of the past,
“We must keep in mind that the elderly are our future, the self-portrait of the younger generation.
I hope to see more young intellectuals who are more respectful and can think together.
3-minute speech at a civic organization seminar
The murder in front of the Jamwon-dong Cathedral in Seoul was shocking in many ways.
The killer, who stabbed and murdered a citizen of Ssangmyeonbuji on his way home from work, said “just because” as his reason for the crime.
The killer’s home and the victim’s home were only about 70 meters away, so the victim was suddenly attacked by a neighbor he didn’t even know.
What’s more, the killer’s identity is surprising: he was a 23-year-old who had dropped out of a prestigious American university.
What’s notable about this case is what triggered his murderous impulses.
After high school, the shooter reportedly enrolled in a psychology program at a state university in New York, but dropped out because he didn’t fit in.
It appears that he had emotional problems. Violent gaming played a role in this.
The shooter stated that he had been playing a “sword fighting” online game all night on the night of the incident and suddenly wanted to rush outside and kill the first person he saw.
In reality, he committed the horrific act of chasing after the victim and raping his body, just like in the game.
Crimes of this nature have become commonplace in recent years.
In November, a middle school student addicted to computer games killed his mother, named Namura, and then took his own life.
In February, a young man in his 20s beat his mother to death with a blunt object after she scolded him for gaming,
In March, a 30-something couple addicted to internet gaming starved their 3-month-old daughter to death.
Even these supposedly discerning adults are likely to become addicted if they are exposed to gaming from an early age.
It’s time to consider a fundamental shift in gaming policy.
Historically, gaming policy has focused on protecting the emotional well-being of young people, who are less able to self-regulate.
But events have made it clear that the problem can be just as serious for adults.
Gaming addiction is not an age-discriminating issue.
Therefore, going forward, we need to approach gaming from a sociopathic perspective, not just an industrial one.
We will need to pool our collective wisdom to prevent and treat what has emerged as the new social disease of the 21st century.
Thank you for listening.
Civil society seminar lecturer 3-minute speech
There is a saying that “the loss of one elderly person is like the loss of a library.”
This means that the wisdom and years of life of the elderly are like a library built with the fingerprints of their minds.
It’s a phrase that conveys the hope that their experience and wisdom will be passed on as a beautiful tradition.
But with all the praise we pay to youth, have we failed to pay the least bit of respect to old age?
The social reality surrounding the elderly remains bleak.
In Japan, which has the highest proportion of elderly people in the world, an estimated 15,000 elderly people die of “loneliness” every year.
How can we fathom the loneliness they feel as they live out their lives alone, cut off from friends and relatives.
They, too, once had a sparkling moment of youth.
Old age is a crucial time in life when we face the final task of integrating ourselves, organizing our lives, and coming to terms with death.
Shouldn’t we as a society pay more attention and care to help them thrive during that time?
How many people have lived well in their youth?
When they reach old age, their lives are more likely to face poverty and loneliness.
It’s time for communities to step in and wrap a little more warmth around the rest of their lives.
We need to create a society that helps all seniors, whether they have children or not, live out their lives with dignity.
Continuing to expand care for the elderly living alone is not an option, it is a necessity.
They were once the cornerstone of Korea’s economic growth.
It would be our responsibility and duty to extend social care to them.
With ‘loneliness’ a hot topic, how are your parents faring?
The stories of loners in the news make me think about my own family, my own parents.
Why not reach out to your parents who are far away and say hello?
Also, be sure to share your care and compassion with the elderly who live alone in your neighborhood.
3-minute speech by a civic organization seminar instructor
“For the gypsy who has lost his nest
I am afraid of the night that comes.
The beauty of the sunset seen by others
is only a shadow of fear for a gypsy…
He gulps water as if it were his friend.
and lays his shame-lost flesh
and lays it down anywhere.”
This is an excerpt from a homeless man’s poem left on the wall of a homeless shelter in Seoul.
The sense of despair and heartbreak is palpable.
I wonder if he wrote it in hopes of redeeming himself, dreaming of a world without homelessness.
Only those who have experienced it know what it’s like to not have a place to sleep tonight.
Hunger is the biggest survival challenge, followed by homelessness.
Homeless people are literally homeless, sleeping in the dew.
They eat in the wind, sleep in the dew, and suffer in the darkness with no end in sight.
The number of homeless people in Korea is over 13,000 as of last year, according to official government statistics alone.
The number of homeless people exploded during the IMF economic crisis.
During that time and through the global financial crisis, problems such as bad credit, job loss, and family breakdown have only intensified.
These are clearly societal and structural issues, not individual problems.
Despite this, the image of homelessness in our society is extremely negative.
Most people see homeless people as lazy, helpless, and repulsive,
or potentially sick and criminal.
These views further marginalize them.
Homeless people are often the first to be singled out as suspects in crimes.
They are also seen as targets for social crackdowns and exclusion.
Think back to the 1988 Seoul Olympics or the 2005 APEC meeting in Busan.
At that time, homeless people were seen as a social pariah to be hidden,
and there were instances where there was a rush to hide them or kick them out.
In effect, they were treated like criminals.
It’s time for us to stop treating homeless people as objects to be controlled or isolated.
Homeless people are equal citizens of this society.
They may be living on the streets by choice, but they are also our family, friends, and neighbors.
Their desire to escape a life of homelessness is probably greater than anyone else’s.
It’s time for us as a society to stop turning them away and start thinking about how we can work together to get there.
Thank you.
3-minute speech at a civic organization seminar
I recently made a Japanese friend.
He is dreaming of a new life after retirement and is eager to learn Korean culture.
He believes that the basis of culture is language, and it’s been a year since he moved to Korea from Japan to learn Korean.
Over dinner the other night, he confided in me that he felt like he lacked a sense of purpose and motivation for learning Korean compared to the younger students at his language school.
I encouraged him that it’s only natural that people of different ages would have different goals and motivations for learning, and different forms of willpower to achieve.
Still, he shook his head and blamed himself for not trying harder.
As he watched the young students studying with passion, he had mixed feelings about his own shortcomings.
Whether it was negligence, a lack of enthusiasm, or the speed at which they were learning, he asked himself.
With the rapidly aging population and increasing life expectancy, many people are thinking about the rest of their lives after retirement.
Japan ranks first in the world in terms of the proportion of people aged 65 and over, or the aging rate, at 23.1% as of last year, and South Korea is rapidly surpassing Japan in terms of aging.
This is especially true as the baby boomers begin to retire in earnest.
My Japanese friend’s case is perhaps a special example.
They’ve reached retirement age in a cushy job and won’t have the financial burden of a pension.
He’s also quite fortunate in that he’s able to find what he wants to do and make it happen.
But not everyone has the same vision as him, even if they have the financial means.
And even if we do have visions and dreams, the vast majority of us won’t be able to put them into action.
As we face an aging population, we need to think about how to bring the elderly back into society.
Rather than focusing solely on enhancing their ability to support themselves, governments need to create an enabling environment that unleashes the dreams and visions of seniors and retirees.
We need to create organized support systems to help them realize their ideas and plans.
Furthermore, we need policies and measures to support their last dreams, even for those who are unable to integrate into society.
Thank you.
Civil society seminar instructor 3-minute speech
The rainy season has passed and all that’s left is the sweltering heat.
You hesitate to step out of the house because the heat is stifling when you open the door.
You even have to close the windows to feel cooler, making the world feel even more like a steamroller.
Since the beginning of summer this year, with temperatures in the high 30s, major appliance companies have reported that air conditioner sales have surged more than 80% year-over-year.
One particular product has seen a whopping 600% increase in sales, and the sudden demand is causing air conditioners to run out of stock.
It’s only a matter of time before electricity usage skyrockets and energy supplies become tight once the heat wave begins in earnest.
In the summer of 2010, sudden showers would often fall like drops of water in a dry sky.
It would start without warning, pouring down in torrents, and then disappear as quickly as it came.
As I experienced this fickle weather, I thought to myself, “The world has gotten really weird,” but I couldn’t bring myself to hit the air conditioner shutdown button, even though I knew why.
Is it really that hard to match our actions with our words?
In 2010, Korea’s energy consumption grew at a rate of 7.2%, outpacing economic growth of 6.2%.
Electricity consumption, in particular, grew by a whopping 10.1%.
This summer, peak electricity demand is expected to reach an all-time high of 74.77 million kilowatts.
One of the main drivers of this surge in electricity demand is our culture of excessive cooling.
Air conditioner sales are soaring, and the culture of over-cooling to the point where long sleeves are required in public places like theaters and banks,
the possibility that increased energy consumption could eventually lead to an energy supply crisis is no longer just a concern.
If we seek only artificial coolness, relying on air conditioning breezes,
we may lose our precious four seasons.
Summer is a little hot, and sweating is a natural part of the season.
The stifling heat we’re experiencing now may be a side effect of our air conditioning culture.
If we continue to rely on air conditioning, next year will be hotter than this year, and the year after that will be hotter than the year after that.
Eventually, the phenomenon will accelerate and cause even bigger problems.
When we don’t follow nature’s course and insist on artificial conveniences, we will pay the price.
Let’s all start by taking small steps to keep our air conditioners at 26 degrees Celsius.
By doing so, we can conserve energy and share the wisdom of making summer as beautiful as it should be.
3-minute speech by a civic organization seminar instructor
Bullying can leave deeper scars than physical abuse. I remember when the issue of “bullying” was a big topic in society at large. I remember watching a program that aired around that time, maybe It’s What You Want to Know, and I still remember one quote from a student.
“The reason I bully is so that I won’t be bullied.”
I was stunned by that statement, but I soon realized that it was a reality of our society. The idea that bullying is something that happens because the victim has done something wrong and everyone is outraged is usually not true, but the media portrayed it as a collective unspoken war that stems from a “me too” mentality. It made me uncomfortable that the coverage made what a few do seem like a common behavior of many.
A lot of time has passed since the neologism “bullying” was coined, and even among children, bullying is probably not driven as much by a desire to protect themselves as it once was. But there are still “leagues of their own” everywhere – in schools, workplaces, and the military. And in the military, where hierarchy and obedience are so closely guarded, bullying can be even more traumatizing.
In an organization like the Marines, where there is a strong sense of belonging, the psychological pressure on bullies is thought to be particularly high. As I watched the coverage of the shootings, I wondered who would volunteer to be a Marine in this environment. In the case of Cpl. Kim, who suffered from mental anxiety, it’s hard to imagine what he must have been going through if he was treated like a “ghost” by his seniors and juniors.
Of course, strong discipline is necessary to build a strong military, but if it’s built on anti-human rights behaviors like bullying, it’s not really discipline at all.
For example, what lesson does making them dance naked or giving them cheers for no reason teach them, other than a sense of self-doubt that “this is the way society is, and this is the way the military is?” The seniors who give those orders are likely to go out into society and blend in, or even become elite and successful.
The anger that soldiers feel in the face of this reality goes beyond the individual and is eventually directed at society as a whole. Organizational injustice is the cause of festering psychological wounds. I believe that no matter how necessary discipline is, it should not come at the expense of conscience and character.
The biggest danger of bullying is that the perpetrators feel no guilt – they think they’ve simply ‘got what’s coming to them’. Even in the movie A Good Man, the soldiers who executed the ‘Code Red’ are portrayed as exemplary and usually help the victims, but there is no justification for bullying in this process.
Currently, the military is constantly hearing about suicides, violent incidents, and murders of soldiers on leave, and it’s time for fundamental reforms to the entire military system to change this reality.
Civil Society Seminar Instructor 3-minute speech
Good evening, everyone.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the death of Captain ○○○.
He was a labor activist who fought for better working conditions at a garment manufacturing company in Cheonggyecheon Peace Market in Seoul as a young man. He fought against poor working conditions and labor exploitation, and in despair at society’s indifference and lack of change, he made the extreme choice to set himself on fire.
His life is a record of true sacrifice, as he studied, fought, and dedicated himself to the cause of women in even worse conditions, despite his own difficult circumstances.
Today, I think of the most suffering contingent workers of our time.
We may think, “That was then, the 1970s,” but the fact that similar situations are being repeated in the 21st century makes us bitter.
“I want to live like a human being” is still the cry of the protesters. “I want to be treated like a human being” is also the most frequent cry of today’s contingent workers.
Across the country, we are constantly receiving calls from workers suffering from unpaid wages.
But they often don’t even know who they’re fighting for: their employers say they can’t afford to pay them, and the company itself operates without a clear concept of what it is. Every day, companies go bankrupt, workers don’t get paid, and bosses are forced to make extreme choices.
Chaebols are making astronomical profits, while small and medium-sized businesses are going under, and workers are being sacrificed in the middle.
Our society is crying out for a fairer society, but inequality in the labor market is the most urgent issue to be addressed.
As labor flexibility has increased, especially after the foreign exchange crisis, people who have lost their social safety net are increasingly choosing death out of despair.
According to statistics, the number of suicides in South Korea is higher than the number of homicide victims in Brazil.
It’s time to stop thinking of these issues as something that doesn’t concern us, and start thinking about them as something we can all work on together.
Thank you for listening.
